Twisted Development (6)
“Alright! Stomach’s full, and I’m in top condition!”
On a clear, cloudless blue afternoon, Varis, Eily, and I had made our way to the forest beside the Saint Academy.
Or more precisely, it was a vast training ground shaped like a forest.
“How about you, Arnold and Eily?!”
The reason we three had ventured into the woods was to hunt monsters.
“I’m good!”
This area was directly managed by the academy. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary woodland where various monsters appeared, but in truth, it required countless experts deployed daily by the academy to keep it in check.
“Same here, more or less.”
To provide students with diverse experiences while ensuring safety, they controlled monster populations, improved the environment, stationed combat personnel, and more—mastering and regulating the expansive region through various methods.
As I’d just mentioned, the entire forest was essentially one massive training ground.
“Then let’s go!”
Armed in iron plate armor and an iron sword, Varis stepped boldly toward the depths.
“Don’t get too excited.”
“I know~”
I decided to quietly follow behind him today and observe his actions.
The reason we’d come here was to gauge Varis’s growth and skill level.
“Grrr...!”
“Whoa...! It’s a wolf monster!”
The first monster we encountered was a Blood Wolf, a red-feathered beast ranking above the Dire Wolf.
“Graaah!”
The Blood Wolf bared its fangs at Varis, who was leading the way.
“Come at me...!”
But Varis didn’t flinch at the fierce howl. Instead, he charged straight ahead with confidence.
“Raaah!”
Slash!—He gripped his sword, lowered his stance, and swung it down in a straight, powerful arc.
Flesh tore with a sickening rip alongside the bold strike.
“Kweeeh...!”
The Blood Wolf let out a guttural screech, rolling on the ground. It thrashed for a moment before going still.
“Ooh... impressive?”
Eily blinked in admiration after he felled the monster in one blow.
“A Blood Wolf isn’t exactly a pushover, after all.”
And as a side note... she’d come out in her usual maid outfit, armed with just a single sword dangling at her side. For some reason, she stubbornly insisted on wearing it.
“You think so? Heh heh... What’d you think, Arnold?!”
Varis’s skills weren’t bad at all. Aside from his overly broad movements and unnecessary flourishes, there wasn’t much to nitpick.
“Hmm, better than expected?”
We were still early in the story, and he had plenty of room to improve, so his growth potential was promising.
“Awesome!! Let’s keep this momentum going~!”
If I had to point out an issue... his original personality made him overly enthusiastic and boisterous, which could feel a bit noisy.
But that would mature as he overcame trials and grew, so no real worry there.
“Kikikik!”
The next monster to appear before him was a goblin.
Green-skinned with a grotesque, yokai-like appearance—but it didn’t feel particularly threatening.
“Goblins this time...!”
The classic RPG mooks. They had enough intelligence to use tools, making them trickier than Blood Wolves in some situations.
“Raaah!”
“Grk! Grk!”
Above all, they always traveled in packs, making them more dangerous than you’d think.
“What’s this? He’s got friends...!”
No sooner had he spoken than five more goblins emerged from behind the first one.
“Doesn’t matter!”
“Kyak!!”
Even so, Varis charged forward boldly and engaged them head-on once more.
“Keeek!”
The lead goblin lunged first, swinging a stone knife like a dagger at Varis.
“Hmph!”
But Varis leveraged his longer weapon, swinging his sword in a wide arc.
“Eeeek—!”
The goblin shrieked as its abdomen was cleanly sliced open.
“Kyaa~!”
While he focused on one, another goblin exploited the opening, slashing at his left shoulder with its crude blade.
Sizzle!...
“Eh?”
But the attack didn’t land. Varis deftly blocked with his iron vambrace, flowing smoothly into a counterstrike.
Slash!—
“Eek...!”
He swung with the weight at the tip like a mace, smashing down from the side. The goblin crumpled without resistance.
“Hoo...”
Varis had dispatched two in an instant.
““Uh-oh?””
“Haa—.”
As their comrades fell in seconds, the goblin pack hesitated in panic. Varis used the gap to catch his breath.
“Here I go!”
He reset his stance and charged again. The grin of delight from the praise had vanished, replaced by a serious glare at his foes.
“Ugh!”
He barreled into the nearest one, slamming his body against it.
“Ek—!”
Goblins were physically frail; a shove with his forearm sent it sprawling.
Stab!
He didn’t miss the opening, thrusting his sword into the prone goblin for the finish.
Only three remained now.
“Master, I can’t just stand by—I’ll help too!”
Watching Varis’s exploits, Eily mustered her courage and offered to join the fray.
“You sure that’s okay?”
Come to think of it... I’d never really seen Eily fight properly.
The last I’d heard was that she’d barely passed the academy entrance exam; no updates on her skills since.
“Yes!”
“Got it. I trust you.”
This could be a chance to see what she was capable of.
And if things got dicey mid-fight, I could always step in.
“Thank you! Then...!”
With permission granted, Eily drew her sword. Unlike Varis’s broad greatsword built for heavy, weighty blows, hers was slender and sharp for swift swings.
“Haa....”
She inhaled deeply, bending her knees.
Thud!—Then she kicked off the ground in a nimble leap.
Honestly, her movement caught me off guard.
“Haat!”
Eily moved faster than I’d imagined, her form as graceful as a soaring butterfly.
“Hmm...?!”
How fast? She overtook Varis—who’d been well ahead targeting the goblins—and struck first.
“Huh...!”
“I’ll assist you!”
Varis seemed startled by her sudden intervention.
Unlike his momentary flinch of surprise, Eily’s leap was precise and unhesitating.
Thrust!—
“Gek...!!”
She closed in swiftly and pierced its skull. Not just fast—deadly accurate.
“Eek?!”
Slash!—
She followed with a quick circular slash on the startled goblin beside it. Sharp judgment too.
“Ke... kgh...”
The last one fell to a precise cut at the nape.
The goblins, who’d had the numerical edge, were wiped out in seconds.
“Mya... myap...?!”
Only one left.
“Finishing blow!”
And even that fell to Eily.
Slaaash!—
“....?!”
Clean, efficient—no wasted motion. Her final strike was just as swift and precise.
Varis and Eily had finally taken down the last of them.
“Impressive. You both surprised me.”
Honestly, they’d both exceeded expectations.
“Really? Thanks, Arnold...!”
At this rate, Varis should handle the upcoming weekend event just fine.
“Hee hee... Praise from Master... What an honor!”
Especially Eily—she’d shocked me to the core.
She’d mostly outgrown her clumsiness now and handled chores flawlessly, but I’d always seen her as the cute, scatterbrained type. I never imagined she had such high-level skills.
“Seriously though... you were insanely fast. Caught me off guard.”
Varis echoed my thoughts, marveling at her speed.
“Yeah, definitely beyond expectations.”
“R-Really? Hee hee... Thank you, Master...!”
Eily scratched her cheek bashfully at the flood of praise—a girlish reaction belying her surprising prowess.
“Good work, both of you.”
I’d ended up just spectating, but their performance filled me with genuine admiration.
“Arnold~ You’re not just gonna watch the whole time, right~?”
“I-It’s fine! Eily will cover for Master too!”
No worries here.
“You two were so solid, I never got an opening. Sorry.”
“Haha, no problem! This is plenty among friends~”
I’d focused a lot on Eily, but as mentioned, Varis was strong enough to solo the next event too.
“Alright, let’s push a bit deeper, then head out!”
So hopefully... I wouldn’t need to step in for the coming event.
As long as the plot didn’t derail, it’d play out smoothly like in the game.
“Sure. Lead on.”
Still, deep down, I quietly cheered him on.